Rope climbing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Rope climbing gear includes a chest harness and a hip harness together with knee-mounted and ankle-mounted attachments. At each of the chest, knee and ankle positions is a running clamp that permits free movement of the rope therethrough in one direction while prohibiting movement of the rope in the other direction. The chest and hip harnesses are secured together by a flexible element.

United States Patent Sutherland et a1.

ROPE CLIMBING APPARATUS Inventors: Robert L. Sutherland; Wayne M.

Sutherland, both of PO. Box 213, 1828 Steele, Laramie, Wyo. 82070 Filed: May 20, 1974 Appl. No.: 471,491

1111. C1 A62b 1/14 Field 01 Search 182/5, 6, 7, 3, 133, 134, 182/135, 136, 191, 221

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1924 Lowery 182/134 12/1931 Fowler ..l82/5 Mar. 4, 1975 2,078,145 4/1937 3,006,431 10/1961 3,200,904 8/1965 3,717,219 2/1973 3,814,210 6/1974 Hoffman 182/135 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hugh H. Drake [57] ABSTRACT Rope climbing gear includes a chest harness and a hip harness together with knee-mounted and anklemounted attachments. At each of the chest, knee and ankle positions is a running clamp that permits free movement of the rope therethrough in one direction while prohibiting movement of the rope in the other direction. The chest and hip harnesses are secured to gether by a flexible element.

12 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEUMR 4|915 SHEET 1 pf 2 ROPE CLIMBING APPARATUS The present invention relates to rope climbing apparatus. More particularly, it pertains to an assembly to be worn and used by a person in ascending a suspended rope while performing any one of such activities as, for

example, alpine climbing, cave exploration or construction work.

The need or desire to make use of a rope, suspended from above, in climbing occurs in a number of different situations. Construction workers, alpiners, cave explorers and others frequently utilize a rope, suspended at its upper end, as a means for climbing to or placing themselves at higher elevations Recognizing such activity, the prior art suggests a variety of assemblages that assist a rope climber in achieving his objective.

A very useful device in connection with rope climbing has been that which is known as an ascender. Such a unit has a vertically-aligned opening through which the climbing rope passes near a curved, pivoted jaw. When the ascender is moved upwardly along the rope, the jaw swings away and does not obstruct ascender movement. However, a downward load upon the jaw assembly causes the jaw to engage the rope and prevent further downward movement of the assembly and anything, such as the climber, carried thereby. By affixing such an ascender to one ankle and the opposite knee, a climber is able to elevate his legs alternately and, thus, climb a suspended rope.

Various other related, or different, schemes have been devised for enabling a person to climb a rope. In all such cases, however, the approach is one which either involves undesired complexity of utilization by the climber or an arrangement that does not adequately project the safety of the person doing the climbing.

It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to provide new and improved rope-climbing apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improved rope-climbing apparatus which insures safety of the user while, at the same time, enabling a very easy mode of operation in performing the climbing.

A further object of the present invention is to provide new and improved rope-climbing apparatus that incorporates, in its assembly, the use of several components readily available as standard climbing gear.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The organization and manner of operation of the invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. I is a pictorial view illustrating usage of rope climbing apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus itself as shown in FIG. 1 but detached from the person;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side-elevational view ofa portion of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a breast fixture included in the apparatus shown in FIGS. l-3;

FIG. 5 is a front-elevational view of the breast plate of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end-elevational view of the breast plate shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 7, showing the interrelationship of the breast plate of FIGS. 4-7 with flexible webbing depicted in FIGS. l3;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a breast plate that is alternative to that shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a shoulder harness alternative to that specifically shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an ascender as included as a detail in each of FIGS. l-3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in FIG. 1, a rope climber I0 is suspended from a rope 12 directly by means of ascenders 14, 16 and 18. Each ascender, as shown in FIG. 11, is composed of a housing 20 of generally U-shaped configuration to receive rope l2 and including a pivot 22 upon which a swingable jaw 24 is mounted. Jaw 24 has a plurality of serrations 26 on its external surface facing rope 12, and the position of pivot 22 together with the dimensions of jaw 24 are such that serrations 26 are normally pressed against rope 12 in clamping engagement therewith. When ascender 14 is moved upwardly relative to rope l2, jaw 24 is caused to swing out of the way, permitting free movement of the ascender. Upon the exertion of a downward force upon ascender 14, however, jaw 24 is moved by friction with the rope into a position in which serrations 26 engage rope l2 and lock ascender 14 at a fixed position. Insuring the location ofjaw 24 adjacent to the rope, so as to be prepared to lock upon downward movement, is a wire spring 28 (FIG. 2) that biases jaw 24 toward its rope-engaging position.

Person l0 wears a chest harness 30 that includes a flexible strap 32 dimensioned to encircle the chest of the user. A breast fixture 34 receives the ends of strap 32 in a manner such that those end portions may be interwound through the breast plate in order to secure strap 32 thereto. As shown more particularly in FIG. 8, breast plate 34 includes a pair of spaced slots 36-38 and 40-42, respectively on either side of a projecting ear assembly 44 and which may receive the end portions 46 of strap 32 in either an interwoven or sewed manner so as to secure a firm relationship between strap 32 and breast fixture 34.

As detailed in FIG. 2, chest assembly 30 includes a pair of shoulder straps 48 individually spanning respective opposite ends of the oblong chest-engaging shape of strap 32. Each shoulder strap 48 is provided with a buckle or friction-type securement 50 that enables the positioning of the overall harness 30 securely about the upper torso of the user.

Positioned below harness 30 on the user is a hip harness 52 including a waistband 54 that has an adjustable buckle-type element 56 to secure seating on the user. Secured on the front side of waistband 54 is a retainer 58. Cooperating with waistband 54 are a pair of loops 60 and 62 each dimensioned to be received upon the upper thighs of the user. As specifically embodied, each of loops 60 and 62 includes an affixed securement 64 and 66, respectively.

In use, securements 64 and 66 are secured to retainer 58, on waistband 54, by a flexible connection. Practically, this takes the form of an openable link known as a carabiner. Carabiners are desired, in this application of use, because they form a standard component of alpine gear. Similarly, carabiners are utilized to provide a flexible chain 68 that extends between ears 44 on breast plate 34 and retainer 58 on waistband 54. This provides a flexible securement between the shoulder harness'and the waistband. Its lower end also inteate qoafi laa alw th.w is b d 5. n s sy e but yet flexible hip harness.

Secured from and adjacent to ascender 16 is a knee loop 70 sized to fit preferably immediately below the knee of the user as shown in FIG. 1. To that end, of course, loop 70 may be fashioned to include a buckle or other device for dimensional adjustment. Suspended downwardly from loop 70 is a strut 72 that carries an ankle loop 74 engageable about the ankle of the user; again, it may be adjustable so as to insure a tight fit. Further below ankle loop 74 on strut 72 is a stirrup 76 that accepts the left foot of the user as depicted in FIG. 1. The arrangement of stirrup 76, loops 74 and 70 and loop 62 insures the ability of the user to articulate ascender 16 upon rope 12.

At the vicinity-of ascender l8, and secured thereto, is another stirrup 80 in which the right leg of the user, as shown in FIG. 1, is to be inserted. For safety, a heel or rear-ankle strap 82 circularly extends from one side of stirrup 80 to the other.

FIGS. 8 illustrate the formation of breast plate 34 in the implementation of the construction shown in FIG. 2. In this case, breast plate 34 includes the plural ity of spaced elongate vertical slots 3642 distributed respectively on either side of the center of the plate.

That, of course, facilitates the interweaving of the belt ends as shown in FIG. 8. Moreover, ear assembly 44, in this case, is simply made in a U-shaped form assembled by a rivet 84 as shown in FIGS. 6-8. Alternatively, a protruding ear assembly 44, illustrated as having duplicate ears as shown in most of the figures, may be formed by outwardly depending tabs as depicted in FIG. 9.

As one of many possible alternatives to the construction of the chestharness IilG Q illustrates a slightly different breastplate 34 in which only one vertical slot is deposedon one side of ear assembly 44. In this case, of course, the attendant webbing of the chest band is simply looped through and sewed or otherwise secured.

FIG. illustrates an alternative form of shoulder harness. In this case, straps 48' are terminated in loops 90 that receive chest belt 32. Cross bands 92, extending between the two loops, add rigidity. Each loop 48' includes an adjustable buckle 94 so as to ensure fitting the shoulder harness to the user.

The apparatus described makes use of certain climbing principles heretofore known. In particular, the ascenders used have been previously disclosed. Also, a variety of different body harnesses have heretofore been devised for lifting a person in some way. However, the combinations specifically described herein will be seen to have obvious attributes. For one, the climber is maintained in an upright position at all times without having to use his hands. Not only is he safe if he becomes unconscious, but he can carry equipment, another person being rescued and so forth. In addition,

the climber has the assurance, against descent, of three different rope-engaging devices. Basically, the climbing action is entirely achieved by the use of the legs. Yet, he may augment that action by pulling with his hands. All considered, the devices disclosed afford a highly desirable degree of flexibility and use while yet insuring ultimate safety of the user.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for climbing a rope, comprising:

chest means, including a flexible strap dimensioned to encircle the users chest and a breast fixture securing the ends of said strap, for mounting upon the chest of the user;

hip means, including flexible straps to encircle the waist and upper thighs of the user, for mounting upon the hip region of the user;

knee means for mounting upon one leg of the user in the vicinity of the knee;

ankle means for mounting upon the other leg of the user in the vicinity of the ankle;

a first running clamp, permitting free movement of said rope therethrough in one direction while prohibiting movement of said rope therethrough in the other direction, affixed'to said breast fixture;

a second running clamp, like the first, affixed to said knee means;

a third running clamp, like the first, affixed to said ankle means;

and tie means for flexibly securing said chest means to said hip means.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said chest means further includes a pair of adjustable-length shoulder straps individually spanning respective end portions of the flexible strap of said chest means.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said breast fixture includes a base plate from which at least one apertured ear projects, and saidtie means is secured at one end to said ear.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said base plate includes a plurality of vertically aligned enlongate slots dimensioned to receive the respective end portions of the flexible strap of said chest means, said end portions being interwound through said slots in securement to said base plate.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which said base plate includes a spaced pair of said slots individually on respective sides of said ear.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which said base plate has a spaced pair of said slots on one side of said ear and a single one of said slots on the other side of said ear.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said hip means includes an adjustable waistband, a pair of flexible loops dimensioned to fit about the respective upper thighs of the user, and flexible means for tying said loops to said waistband.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which said tie means secures said fixture to said waistband and said waistband to each of said loops.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said ankle means includes a stirrup receivable of the foot of the user.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 in which said stirrup includes a heel band effective to lock said foot into said stirrup. 

1. Apparatus for climbing a rope, comprising: chest means, including a flexible strap dimensioned to encircle the user''s chest and a breast fixtuRe securing the ends of said strap, for mounting upon the chest of the user; hip means, including flexible straps to encircle the waist and upper thighs of the user, for mounting upon the hip region of the user; knee means for mounting upon one leg of the user in the vicinity of the knee; ankle means for mounting upon the other leg of the user in the vicinity of the ankle; a first running clamp, permitting free movement of said rope therethrough in one direction while prohibiting movement of said rope therethrough in the other direction, affixed to said breast fixture; a second running clamp, like the first, affixed to said knee means; a third running clamp, like the first, affixed to said ankle means; and tie means for flexibly securing said chest means to said hip means.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said chest means further includes a pair of adjustable-length shoulder straps individually spanning respective end portions of the flexible strap of said chest means.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said breast fixture includes a base plate from which at least one apertured ear projects, and said tie means is secured at one end to said ear.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said base plate includes a plurality of vertically aligned enlongate slots dimensioned to receive the respective end portions of the flexible strap of said chest means, said end portions being interwound through said slots in securement to said base plate.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which said base plate includes a spaced pair of said slots individually on respective sides of said ear.
 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which said base plate has a spaced pair of said slots on one side of said ear and a single one of said slots on the other side of said ear.
 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said hip means includes an adjustable waistband, a pair of flexible loops dimensioned to fit about the respective upper thighs of the user, and flexible means for tying said loops to said waistband.
 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which said tie means secures said fixture to said waistband and said waistband to each of said loops.
 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said knee means includes a leg band encircling the user''s leg in the vicinity of the knee and a stirrup, receivable of the foot of the user, suspended from said leg band.
 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said stirrup is suspended from said leg band by a rigid strap, and an ankle band is affixed to said rigid strap in a position to receive the ankle of the user.
 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said ankle means includes a stirrup receivable of the foot of the user.
 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 in which said stirrup includes a heel band effective to lock said foot into said stirrup. 